June 2017 – Devon and Northumberland
Mid June arrived and we decided to book a couple of days at the Woodford Bridge Country Club in Milton Damerel. It was one of those amazing deals that could well have been too good to be true. However, it was brilliant at £42.50 a night for an apartment with full kitchen. Furthermore, it was only a few miles from where Annie’s sister Pam lives. It was a great chance to catch up with Pam and Neil who came over for supper in the Club restaurant on our first night. The next day we set off for Morwenstow and a really pleasant walk along part of the coastal path ending up at the Church.
We then headed for Bude and enjoyed a wander around before meandering back your accommodation. A great value stay.
Towards the end of the month, we had a week free of appointments and Annie’s new car to run in, so we headed for Northumberland via Bridget and David Lindley’s home in Thorner. We had a lovely meal with Bridget, David and family at a very smart Italian Restaurant.
The next day we headed north to visit Cragside a wonderful house and garden and a must for anyone with an interest in engineering! Built by Lord William Armstrong, it was the first home in the world powered by hydroelectricity and is still full of many technical innovations introduced by Armstrong. The grounds and the beautiful bridge were a joy to walk around.
From there we travelled to Warkworth Castle. With its origins dating back to the 12th century, the castle has had an interesting history. Including resisting a siege by the Scots in 1327 which earned praise and reward from the English King Edward III. The King granted the castle to Henry Percy, 2nd Baron Percy. The Percy family continued to use the castle until 1987.
Our home for four nights in Northumberland was a mobile home on a large site at Wooler. The caravan represented great value and was an ideal base for the sites we wanted to visit. Our first day out was to Alnwick Castle and Gardens – a must for anyone visiting the area. Alnwick Castle, as was Warkworth, was connected to the Percy Family and since 1309 has been owned by the family, the Earls and later Dukes of Northumberland ever since. The current occupant is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland. 
The Castle is large and in good order with so much to see. Not surprisingly the location has been used for various films and TV series including Harry Potter and Downton Abbey. The gardens water features were quite something and very impressive when the fountains ‘performed’ on the half hour.
The following day we travelled to Lindisfarne. Holy Island had long been on Gerry’s to do list (Annie having visited with Bridget some years ago). It is quite a place and I suspect I would have got a lot more of the atmosphere and spirituality if there had not been so many tourists!
We were disappointed to find that the castle was closed and covered in scaffolding and even the church attached to the Abbey ruins had scaffolding as well. Nevertheless, a very special place.
We headed back to Wooler via various towns but also the castle at Etal. Built by Robert Manners as a defence against Scots raiders in the mid 14th century, it fell to James IV’s invading Scots army in 1513, immediately before their catastrophic defeat at nearby Flodden. Whilst at Etal we came upon the Heatherslaw Light Railway and happened to see the train arrive and the engine turned around on a manual turntable.
We actually travelled on the railway from Heatherslaw the next day. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty grim and there was not a lot to see! But it was still great fun. Earlier in the day we visited Kelso and the ruins of the Abbey. Kelso was a nice place and one to go back to when it is not raining so hard!
We returned to Fairford the next day – a long but uneventful drive with no hold ups.
